The Skeleton Kids
by purewriting
Summary: *Undertale AU* An AU that's 90% fluff, 10% angst. It centers around a single-dad Asgore trying to raise a growing number of skeleton children who were the human children he had killed not long ago while getting over his guilt and his grief over the loss of his own children. There is some dark themes in this story, blood, mentions of suicide, cutting, death, murder, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Since I doubt anyone follows my Tumblr ( purewriting), I don't think anyone knows about the Undertale AU I made (yes, I'm jumping on that bandwagon, pugna mei). It's called "Skeleton Kids AU", basically it's a "what if" AU where humans that die in the Underground come back to life as skeleton monsters because magic *waves hands in an arch*. There is a theoritical reason, but that's explained in the actual story.**

 **I'm posting it here on my FFN too so I can spread it around a bit more. There's art of some of the kids on my Tumblr (only two so far, but I'll draw the rest later), check it out if you want to look.**

 **Enjoy :)**

...

A shrill scream cut through the magic charged air, a small body sliding to the floor, slightly charred. Asgore tore his eyes away from the child's burned corpse. But the tired king couldn't unsee it. The horrid image was imprinted in his mind. The thick black char barely visible against the girl's deep brown hair, the decrepit state of her obviously hand-stitched poncho, and the angry burns that were already blistering her lifeless skin.

And worst of all, the small boy that the girl had died defending. His eyes were wide with terror and glossy with tears. Watery eyes were fixed on the Monster King, the boy's hands clutched with white knuckles around the handle of a medium-sized frying pan. The wounds on the boy were noticeable, but not as severe as the ones on the girl Asgore assumed was his sister.

"P-Please. S-Stop!" he sobbed, voice crackled with enough grief to make Asgore's heart ache, "I don't want to fight!"

Asgore flinched, but didn't waver and rose his red trident. "I'm sorry, human. I...don't want to fight either."

Another scream. Asgore's trident pierced through the human child's flesh, spilling sticky red blood across the polished stone floor. He retracted his trident and the child fell limply next to the girl. The frying pan slipped out of his hands and clattered mournfully to the floor.

Then there was silence. Though it only lasted for a few seconds. Gentle thrums pulsed through the room, each a bit off set from the other. Though overlapping each other, the sound reminded the Monster King of a human heartbeat. It made Asgore's stomach churn to do it, but he looked down at the children's bodies.

Emerging from their corpses, were two small Souls that hovered and trembled above their previous hosts. The one above the girl was as yellow as the buttercups in his throne room, the one above the boy, green as fresh grass. Asgore cradled both Souls carefully in his large hands before slipping them into individual jars before they shattered.

From within the magic containers, the children's Souls continued to pulse strongly. For a brief moment, they almost reminded Asgore of brilliant jewels. And then that moment faded. Asgore sat and stared at them in silence for an agonising minute.

A broken sigh escaped him. "I'm so sorry. Children."

"Is this a bad time? I can come back later." a cool voice asked from behind Asgore.

"No. It's fine Doctor Gaster." the king sighed, "You can take the Souls now. I...have a mess to clean."

That wasn't the only reason he wanted to Souls gone. He just couldn't bare to look at them.

"Of course."

Asgore turned away from the Souls as the skeleton scientist took them out of the room.

"If you need help, just ask." Gaster said over his shoulder.

A dry laugh. "This isn't the first time I've buried children. Thank you though."

Gaster hummed and then he was gone. Asgore wasn't sure how he did it, but he assumed it was some kind of skeleton magic. The monster king returned his attention to the task at hand and felt his Soul crack with a painful mix of guilt and grief as he looked down at the children's broken bodies. They were so small. So young. So much like the children he had lost not long ago. He didn't expect, no. He _hoped_ with his entire Soul that it wouldn't be children he would have to harvest the Souls from.

He would have to do this five more times too.

Would the next five also be children?

He didn't think he could take that.

But Asgore couldn't let his people down. They needed hope and the promise of him gathering the Souls required to break the Barrier and free them from this prison gave that to them. If he backed down now, their hopes would shatter worse than they did when...when his son dusted. The memories from that day flashed through his mind. Asgore had been so grief stricken and blinded by rage that he not only lost his dear children that day, but his wife. Toriel was appalled by his new law.

The law was that any human that fell into the Underground would be killed and their Soul collected.

Asgore didn't blame her one bit. It was foolish, but he was blind with a father's pain. In that moment, he blamed the humans for the death of his only and precious son, and somewhere deep inside, maybe he even blamed Chara for Asriel's death too. But that moment long since passed, or he thinks it did. There was no way that dear, sweet Chara, no matter how strange they could act would have had anything to do with that terrible accident. Right?

Another heavy sigh came from the king. His attention returned from his painful memories to the broken bodies of the children he had brutally slain not long ago. A lump formed in his throat.

 _I don't want to do this_ , He thought mournfully, _But I have to. I can't let these children's bodies rot out here by the Barrier. Not after what I did to them. They both deserve a proper burial._

Tentatively, Asgore picked up the limp bodies of the two children. They were so small that he could carry both of them in his arms. It was awkward to do so however. They were like ragdolls, unable to support themselves and at the mercy of gravity. Asgore wanted to carry the children's corpses with some care, but that task proved more difficult than initially thought.

With some shuffling, Asgore managed to settle the children into a more agreeable position. At a distance, they almost looked like they had simply fallen asleep in Asgore's arms. That is until you saw the blood that soaked their clothes and their glassy eyes staring up at the stone ceiling, glazed over and unresponsive.

They seemed focused on Asgore with a harsh judgement that made him uncomfortable. More so that this arrangement reminded him too much of how he carried his own children to their beds when they fell asleep in some odd place.

Asgore put the observation out of mind and carefully marched through the throne room to the basement. The room was cold, silent, and bleak, the only objects in the room being seven pre-made stone coffins. One of them had previously belonged to Chara before Toriel fled to the Ruins with their body. That coffin now laid with its lid slightly open in stark contrast to the wide open lids of the other six.

"I'm sorry children," Asgore repeated, "But...at least I can give you both some kind of burial."

The boss monster carefully placed the children's bodies inside two of the coffins. Though they barely took up half the space inside. These coffins were made for humans twice their size. Maybe in a final hope of Asgore's that he wouldn't have to lay children to rest in them. The king still couldn't grasp why it seems that only human _children_ ever fell into the Underground.

He took care to place the two children in coffins side by side. He might not have known them for long, but he could sense their close bond. It only made the fact that he murdered one in the presence of the other so much more cruel.

 _What kind of king, what kind of father, have I become?_ He wondered.

Asgore hefted the lids on top and stood solemn vigil once the second lid was placed.

 _I should at least mark them_ , Asgore thought, _But I don't know their names. I never asked._

Still, the king felt he needed to give the children's resting place some formal marker. Something to say who they were. That they weren't just some unfortunate human he killed. An idea occurred to him. Resting a large hand on the lid of each coffin, Asgore focused his power into a thought.

Magic pulsed through his arms and when Asgore removed his hands, a heart of the color of the Souls of the children resting inside was engraved on the lid.

With some feelings of satisfaction, Asgore retreated from the room, not capable of looking at the closed coffins a moment longer.

…

"Howdy Doctor. How is your research coming?" the king asked warmly.

A skeletal head emerged from the throng of wires and tubes with a screwdriver clutched between his teeth. Gaster plucked the tool from his mouth and stood above the innards of his latest machine.

"I have yet to get the machine online so no detailed tests have been run yet, but it shouldn't be long now," Gaster informed Asgore, "Though in the meantime, I've started examining the Souls that...were collected."

The Royal Scientist climbed out of the pits of his creation and picked his way across the tangled mess with relative and practiced ease before directing Asgore to the next room. This room was much neater than the one before, though noticeably darker. The far wall was lined with a mixture of filing cabinets and bookcases, both practically overflowing with papers. On the opposite wall hung a large screen that flickered with numbers and colors that Asgore could make no sense of. Below it was a table with neatly organized stacks of papers and pencils complete with a mug of long cold coffee and the two Souls, both floating in their respective containers.

Gaster had created these jars especially to house Souls. Human Souls, though they could persist after the death of the host, disappeared from this plain of existence within minutes of the human's death, making retrieval impossible. That's Gaster's theory at least and these jars were designed to prevent that from happening.

The skeleton waved his hand and a keyboard shot through the air from its hiding place somewhere on the desk before stopping before Gaster, cloaked in the glow of Blue Magic.

"I've run some basic composition tests on the Souls since you collected them two weeks ago," he explained as he began to type on the keyboard, "What I found is quite interesting."

The images on the screen stopped shifting and settled on two spectral graphs. One was dominantly yellow, but there was a fair amount of red and orange with it though not as much as the yellow. The one below it was largely green with a noticeable amount of cyan and purple, though once again the amount of green was greater than the other colors. Both graphs contained other colors of the rainbow, but for both the other colors were less prominent.

"This is the trait readings on the Souls," Gaster explained, "As expected, the yellow Soul is predominantly composed of the Justice Trait and the green of the Kindness Trait. However, they both have a significant amount of other traits, though not enough to classify them as any other trait."

"'Justice Trait'? 'Kindness Trait'? What exactly are those?" Asgore questioned, not taking his eyes off the diagrams.

"Human Souls are typically dominated by a singular trait, unlike Monster Souls which are equal mixes of all of them," the skeleton describes, "Though these traits don't necessarily define the human entirely, they highlight key points in their personalities and behaviours. They can, however, have secondary traits that aren't as explicit as their Dominant Trait, but are strongly present."

Gaster pointed at the diagram for the yellow Soul. "This Soul's secondary traits would be the Bravery Trait and the Determination Trait. There's also a notable lack of the Patience Trait, but the Perseverance and Integrity Traits are also prominent. Over all, this soul is fairly balanced, but dominated by the Justice Trait regardless."

The Royal Scientist typed a few commands into his keyboard and the image on the screen changed. It looked like a kind of x-ray of the souls. Both were outlined by their Dominant Trait but remained largely void in the boundaries of the Soul. At least until the middle. At the center of the Souls were small glowing spheres of pure white no bigger than a corn kernel.

"What is that?" Asgore asked, surprised.

"That is what I believe holds the Human Soul together," Gaster said, pride highlighting his voice, "I haven't identified it quite yet, but it is unlike anything else in the Soul!"

Asgore looked at Gaster. "Why do you believe that these white specks hold their Souls together?"

Gaster adjusted his glasses. "Well, for one, Human Souls are a chaotic mess of traits, radically unbalanced in comparison to Monster Souls. This attribute is likely why Human Souls persist after the host's death while Monster Souls disperse. It's simply a matter of the concentration of traits. However, it begs the question of how Human Souls stay stable while the host is _alive_ ," he gestured to the screen, "and I believe this is the key to that."

The skeleton set the keyboard down and began sifting through the papers. "I have yet to run the proper experiments due to the amount of time it's taking to get the Trait Extracter up and running, but it's looking promising. I'm planning on running an experiment to test the strength of the Determination Trait once I extract a proper sample."

Asgore nodded. "Alright then Doctor. I'll leave you to your work."

The skeleton nodded without looking up from his papers while the monster king approached the door. However, he stopped for a moment.

"By the way, how are your sons? Their names are...Sans and Papyrus, right?" Asgore asked.

A wide smile crept onto Gaster's face. He straightened his back, took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets.

"They're growing like wild Echo Flowers." he laughed, "Papyrus is so full of energy, I barely know what to do with him! Thank the Angel that Sans can somehow keep up with him. He's quite smart too. Last night he asked me about the Extractor. I'm thinking of bringing him to the Lab some time to show him around if that's alright."

"Of course!" Asgore beamed, "And if you ever need any help, I'd be more than happy to lend a hand. I know how busy you tend to keep yourself." Asgore's beaming grin sagged to a sad, sympathetic smile, "And it must be hard raising two children on your own."

Gaster sighed. "It is, but we'll get through it somehow. I just hope that their futures will be brighter than ours. Maybe they'll get to see the surface someday soon."

Asgore nodded. "Maybe. Well, I'll leave now. Goodbye Gaster."

"Goodbye, Asgore."

…

Asgore took a longer route back to the castle. He somewhat regretted it as dawdling in Hotland is ill advisable even when you aren't covered from head to toe in fur. But Asgore never was eager to return to that place. Although the actual living quarters themselves weren't large, it felt too empty and quiet being there by himself. Being there without the laughter of his children ringing down the halls or the smell of a baking pie wafting through the rooms was the same as being on an alien world to the king. It was, and always will be a family home to Asgore.

But he couldn't stall forever. He eventually stood in the doorway of his home. It had been built to look exactly like the home he and Toriel lived in while still in the Ruins. Asgore wondered what Toriel was doing now. She must have seen the children that eventually reached the castle and knowing her, she tried to stop them from leaving. She tried to protect them. Protect them from him.

"Maybe the flowers need tending to." Asgore wondered out loud.

His words bounced hollowly off the wooden walls. Asgore walked down the stairs and towards the larger area of the castle. He needed a distraction. But then again, his garden wasn't far from the room where the coffins were. Where the children's bodies were. Still as broken and bloodied as the day he put them there.

Asgore halted. What was worse for him to be around? Being in a painfully empty home or near the bodies of children he murdered. Asgore eventually chose the former and resumed his march towards the throne room. Since Asriel and Chara died a year ago, the room had become overtaken by brilliant golden buttercups. Asgore wasn't sure how that came to be, but he remembered his children loved the flowers and decided to keep and tend them in their memory.

When he entered the room, Asgore breathed in the sweet scent of the buttercups. He remembered that he had accidentally been poisoned by the very same flowers, but he loved them all the same.

 ** _BANG BANG BANG BANG!_**

Asgore was torn from his reminiscence by a loud banging. A loud banging from the basement.

 _What is the Underground…?_

Curiosity getting the better of him, Asgore approached the stairs leading the the basement burial chamber and listened.

 _ **BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!**_

The banging came again, louder, and more chaotic and frantic.

"LET ME OUT! IT'S DARK AND SCARY IN HERE!" a voice cried from below.

Asgore's Soul froze. He knew that voice. Without thinking, the Monster King charged down the stairs into the dimly lit chamber. The two coffins he had placed the children in were rattling. It was very slight, but noticeable.

 _How can that be? Can humans somehow live without Souls!?_

"I DON'T LIKE THIS! I'M SCARED! SOMEONE HELP!" a second voice sobbed from inside the stone coffins.

Asgore stood before the coffins, hands trembling above the lid. The coffins stopped rattling but he could hear uneven sobbing coming from both of them. Finally, Asgore couldn't take it anymore and hefted the lids off both the coffins. The heavy coverings fell to the ground with deafening thuds, revealing the last thing Asgore expected to see.

Inside the two coffins were two tiny skeletons. They both were curled in on themselves, crying glowing tears of yellow and green. Around them was some sort of blackened ash that Asgore couldn't explain the presence of. Both tiny skeletons jumped at the massive thuds, their bony arms automatically uncurling from around their ribcages in startlement.

And then they looked up at Asgore, each one with eye sockets barring yellow or green pupils. And then Asgore screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Salvete! I'm back. Here's another chapter. Hate to say this, but don't get too used to these quick updates, my update schedule kind of shifts a lot because life hates me some times T-T. I'll try to update as often as I can, but I have like three other stories too and inspiration is a fickle thing.**

 **Reviews** **:**

 **skyice98 : Thanks :) I like it too. But honestly, if you found two live skeletons in coffins you put dead children in, you'd scream too..haha...**

 **AngelMaster14** **: Thanks for taking interest :) To be honest, I don't know how often this story will update. I'm pretty bad at update schedules because life is crazy and inspiration comes and goes. I'm only updating so quick atm (and this is quick for me) because this story is so easy to write right now.**

 **TheRealMasonMac** ** _:_** **That's probably because neither of those skelekids are Sans. They're the human children transformed into skeleton monsters :)**

 **Guest: No, the items aren't swapped. Kindness is supposed to have the Stained Apron and the Burnt Pan, Justice has the Empty Gun and the Cowboy Hat (though in the story, the Empty Gun, Cowboy Hat, and Stained Apron were lost before the final fight with Asgore)**. **But thank you for the compliment :)**

...

 _Ring...ring….ring…_

 _"Yes? Hello?"_

"OH MY STARS! GASTER! YOU NEED TO COME DOWN TO THE CASTLE RIGHT AWAY!" Asgore shouted into the phone.

 _"Asgore!? What's happened!?"_ the scientist demanded through the receiver, sounding panicked.

Asgore took a breath and composed himself. "You have to come here and see. You won't believe it if you don't see it with your own eyes...ockets."

 _"Alright…?"_ Gaster said, clearly more puzzled now than panicked, _"I'll be there in a moment."_

"And…" Asgore trailed, "Could you bring a medical examination kit with you?"

 _"Is someone hurt?"_

Asgore glanced at the closed hallway door. "Not exactly." he sighed heavily, "Could you just bring it? I promise I'll explain more when you get here."

A moment of silence. _"Alright. I'll be there soon. With a med kit."_

The receiver went dead and Asgore put the phone down, another sigh escaping him. He was having trouble grasping the situation himself. How was it possible? He was positive he had put the bodies of two dead human children in those coffins, so how were there two clearly alive skeleton monster children? They had Souls and everything! Asgore had checked several times!

This whole situation was strange, but Asgore couldn't bring himself to leave the skelekids in the castle basement. So he brought them to his house. The two tiny skeletons took to Asgore immediately, that is, once Asgore finished freaking out. The smaller of the two, the skeleton with green pupils took to calling Asgore 'daddy', which though he was glad to be referred by that title by a child, he was unsure of how he felt knowing who...what this child used to be.

"Uh...Daddy? Can you come in here?" a voice from behind the door asked, pulling Asgore from his thoughts, "We...need help. Ow! Quit it Justine! You making it worse!"

With shaking hands, Asgore opened the door. Inside were the two tiny skeletons. The smaller one with glowing green eyes, whom Asgore discovered was named Ken, somehow managed to get his skull stuck the armhole of a blue and white striped sweater and the other skeleton, Justine, now in a brown and orange striped sweater, was trying to pry him out of it. As soon as Asgore entered the room, both children stopped mid action. The truly comical part is that Asgore could actually see Ken's emerald green pupils looking at him through the sweater's fabric.

An amused snort escaped the Monster King.

"Hey!" Ken moaned, his voice muffled somewhat by the sweater, "Don't laugh!"

"Alright Ken," Asgore said, bending down to the skeleton child's level, "Let's get this sweater on you the right way."

It took a little maneuvering, but Asgore managed to correct Ken's wardrobe malfunction. Asgore couldn't help but notice that the sweater was a bit big on Ken, but it would do for now. Neither skeleton had clothes when he found them and Asgore assumed that the charred things in the coffins with them were the remnants of their garments. How they were reduced to such a state, he didn't know. It was a good thing that Asgore never had the heart to throw out Asriel and Chara's old clothes though.

"There you are! Much better!" Asgore grinned.

Ken beamed widely. "Thank you daddy!"

Justine huffed, an annoyed yellow blush coloring her bony cheeks. "I could have helped too y'ah know!"

Ken silently shook his head. Justine huffed again.

"Alright children," Asgore chided, "Let's go to the living room. There's someone coming to meet you both."

"Who?' Justine asked as they walked out of the room.

"He's a friend of mine, a doctor. He'll be coming to...do a check up." Asgore explained.

They had reached the living room by the time Asgore said that his doctor friend was going to do a check up on them and Justine and Ken stopped walking. Both skeleton children stared up at Asgore with wide, fearful eyes.

"A-A doctor?" Ken stammered, "H-He's not gonna p-poke us with n-needles, is he?"

Asgore chuckled. "No no Ken. No needles. He's just going to make sure you both are healthy."

"Of course we're healthy!" Justine protested, "We don't need a doctor!"

"I don't know Justine. Maybe we might," Ken pointed out carefully, "He won't be using needles…"

Justine and Ken then started a small argument. There wasn't much in terms of shouting, so he wasn't sure if it could be called an argument. It was an impassioned discussion, but 'debate' fit the situation much better than 'argument'.

Regardless, Asgore blanched a little. Out of the two, Justine was the most difficult to deal with. She was stubborn, loud, and firm in her opinions. Almost a polar opposite to Ken, who was quieter and much more willing to listen to others. He'd even taken to Asgore exceptionally quickly since Asgore found them. The Monster King, once again, had mixed feelings about that. He wasn't sure if he could raise them after what had happened to his own children. And most of all what he'd done to them.

A knock on the door brought Asgore from his thoughts and halted Justine and Ken's debate on whether they'd need a doctor.

"It's open!" Asgore called.

The door creaked open. "Sorry I took so long. I got a little turned around on the way here."

Gaster poked his head into the living room and the moment he did, his eye sockets zeroed in on the two skeleton children standing in the living room. He muttered something that Asgore couldn't understand before motioning for him to come. Likely to talk in private.

Asgore looked at the kids. "I'll be right back children. Stay here and behave. We'll be right back."

Asgore stood to leave, but felt something grab onto his pant leg. Looking down, it was little Ken. Ken was staring up at Asgore with watery green eyes, far too much like the ones he looked at the monster king with when he had been killed.

"Promise daddy?"

Asgore nodded robotically. "I promise."

Reluctantly, Ken released Asgore's clothes and the monster king exited the room and followed Gaster outside. Once the door had closed, Gaster dropped his bag and grasped Asgore's shoulders firmly.

"Why are there skeleton children in your house!?" the skeleton scientist exclaimed, though still keeping his voice down, "It shouldn't be possible! To make a skeleton monster, you...you…"

"You need a sample of bone cut from both parents." Asgore finished.

A mournful look settled on Gaster's face and he let go of Asgore's shoulders. The skeleton's bony fingers started to lightly trace over the neat oval shaped holes in his hands.

"Yes. Otherwise it should be impossible!" Gaster said again, "Where did they come from?"

Asgore retold the story of him going to tend his flowers and hearing a noise in the basement that later turned out to be Ken and Justine in the coffins Asgore had placed the human children's bodies in. And neither of them seemed to remember anything besides their names.

Once Asgore finished his story, Gaster looked rather thoughtful.

"So you're saying that these skeleton children are the animated remains of the humans? Unbelievable! They look nothing like humans in their present state!"

"I'm not sure they even are human anymore Gaster." Asgore said.

"What do you mean?"

"I looked at their Souls. They have _Monster Souls_. Both of them!"

Gaster started to mutter again in a language that Asgore couldn't understand before picking up his bag.

"In that case, I need to examine these children right now."

The skeleton opened the door and stopped before he even entered. He chuckled "I suppose Asgore never told you two that eavesdropping is rude?"

Justine and Ken had been standing by the door. Asgore was a little nervous now. How much had they heard? Did they hear him say that they used to be human? Asgore searched their eyes for any trace of fear or hatred, but thankfully found none.

"Sorry," Justine moaned, "But we were curious! What were you and papa talkin' 'bout!?"

Gaster chuckled again and patted the crown of Justine's skull. "Adult things, young one. Now I believe I was called here to perform a medical examination on the two of you, is that correct?"

Justine shook her head 'no', and Ken nodded his head 'yes'. Then they froze and swapped looks before Justine finally sighed and nodded.

"Don't worry. This won't hurt. I'm just going to make sure you're healthy. Though, I can already tell you're both very healthy young children."

"Soooo. Do that mean you _don't_ need to…?" Justine said, rocking back on her heels.

"It's better to be safe than sorry."

Justine's shoulders sagged.

"But," Gaster added, "I promise there won't be any needles and there's a treat in it for good little children who behave."

The promise of a reward for good behavior grabbed their attention and both Justine and Ken followed Gaster into the living room, leaving Asgore to follow in suit.

 _I never realized Gaster was so good with children_. Asgore thought, _It must be because he's raising two of his own…_

Asgore stood watch in the doorway leading into the living room as Gaster started unpacking his bag on the kitchen table. The skeleton set out many medical instruments on the tabletop before selecting a single machine. It looked like some sort of scanner.

"Alright children, I'm going to take a look at your Souls to make sure they're healthy and stable." Gaster explained to them.

"Huh? Our Souls?" Ken asked, green pupils glowing in confusion, "Are those the floaty upsidey downey heart thingies that daddy looked at earlier?"

Gaster nodded. "Yes. That's your Soul, the very culmination of your being. Souls are very important and will affect your health if they aren't taken care of. Is it alright if I take a look at it?"

Ken hesitated and looked over at Asgore. There was a look of uncertainty on his face that Asgore knew all too well in children. Ken was looking for reassurance. Asgore smiled and nodded and Ken looked back at Gaster and repeated the action.

Gaster flipped a switch in the side of the machine and held it in front of Ken's ribcage.

"I'll need you to hold very still, okay?" Gaster requested, "This won't hurt, but I won't get a clear reading if you don't stay still."

"O-Okay… I stay still..."

The machine beeped for a few moments before Gaster finally pulled it closer to himself and began to fiddle with the many knobs and buttons on it. From where he was standing, Asgore could see the image on the large screen change, but was unable to make out what it displayed. Gaster lifted his hand and a blue glow wove around his fingers. Moments later, a pad of paper and a pen flew from his bag and hovered next to him, furiously scribbling down information that only Gaster knew.

The kids were amusingly mystified by the action.

"Whoa! What that!?" Justine asked excitedly.

Gaster looked up from his notepad and grinned. "It's called Blue Magic. With it, I can affect an object's gravity by either making it heavier or lighter. I can even control where it goes." Gaster explained, making the pad of paper buzz around their heads to demonstrate before it returned to his hand, "It's your turn now, young lady."

"The name's Justine!" she declared with childish pride.

Gaster chuckled. "Alright Justine. I need to look at your Soul now."

Justine looked at the machine in Gaster's hand just as cautiously as Ken had, but ultimately agreed and stood still as Gaster scanned her Soul. When the scan was finished, Gaster wrote down information on his note pad. He ran several other tests; checking temperatures, reflexes, an eye exam, all the regular health exams. Once he was done, Gaster scribbled some final notes on his notepad before plucking it out of the air and approaching Asgore while the rest of his equipment put itself away, all of it cloaked in the glow of Blue Magic. And out of his bag flew two individually wrapped lollipops, like the kind you get at the doctor's office when you've been good.

Gaster stopped and looked over at the children. "Here you are children." he smiled, "You've been excellent patients."

Ken grinned widely, showing off his small, pearly teeth. "Thank you Mr. Doctor!"

Justine, who already had the lolly in her mouth also gave her thanks, though it was more garbled with the sweet in her mouth.

Gaster smiled again and turned back to Asgore. "They're both in perfect health." he reported.

"That's good," Asgore sighed, "That is good, right?"

Gaster nodded, his expression more business-like now. "It is, though it's peculiar given their...circumstances."

"What about their Souls?"

Gaster flipped through his notepad. "They're Souls...appear to be a cocktail of residual traits held together by magic. It's like an imitation Monster Soul! All the same components, but made completely independently." Gaster said, "Though it appears that their Dominant Traits are still that, dominant, even in their new Souls which is most unusual for a monster."

"Are their Souls stable?" Asgore asked, concerned.

Gaster nodded. "Yes. Their Souls are steady as stone. Maybe even more so. As far as monsters go, they're quite unique." the skeleton rested the palm of his hand against his skull, "I still don't understand how it's possible for a human to become a monster. I will have to question you further on the matter, but not in the presence of the children."

Both monsters glanced back at the two skelekids, who thankfully seemed too absorbed by their sweet treats to pay any mind to the two adult's conversation.

"Do you think this will...happen again?" Asgore asked.

"I have no reason to believe otherwise." Gaster said.

Asgore groaned softly, resting his forehead in his palm. "What am I going to do Gaster? I can't take care of these children! Let alone...let alone children who were the humans I…I..." the last word, ironically, died in his throat.

Gaster rested a hand on his shoulder. "You're more than capable Asgore. And," he continued, "if you need guidance in raising a pair of rambunctious skeleton children, you have my number."

Asgore glanced back at the children, who were still completely entertained by their candy. He still wasn't sure. How could he be a good father when he let his own children die? Surely someone, _anyone_ , in the Underground would be better suited to raising them than him!

"You are a good father Asgore." Gaster reassured, "Besides. They really like you."

Asgore was about to reply when Ken and Justine finally seemed to realize that the two adult monsters were looking at them. Ken was first to rush to Asgore's side, clutching the Monster King's robes in his tiny skeletal hands. He still had the lollipop stick clutched in his teeth. Justine followed after, though more reluctantly, most likely because she was a bit embarrassed, requested a hug from Asgore with the silent signal of open arms. Asgore flashed a look to Gaster, who nodded reassuringly.

Asgore picked up Justine and gave her a hug that she returned as soon as Asgore had given it. He couldn't deny it now. It was plainly clear that these kids had grown emotionally attached to him and if he were to be honest, he had grown attached to them as well. No matter how much he didn't want to. Maybe though...this might be a good thing for him. Maybe taking care of these children can help him recover emotionally.

A chuckle rose in his throat. "Alright children. Why don't you thank Doctor Gaster?" He asked, setting Justine down.

"Thank you Doctor Gaster!" the two children said in sink.

Gaster smiled at them. "You're quite welcome children."

"Are you leaving Mr. Gaster?" Ken asked innocently.

"Unfortunately, yes. I have work to do."

"Are more people sick?" Justine questioned.

Gaster shook his head. "No. No one else is sick."

"Then what work do you have to do? Can't you stay here with us and Daddy?" Ken asked.

"Don't worry Ken," Gaster reassured, "I won't be gone forever. Ask your daddy if you can drop by Snowdin sometime and you all can pay a visit. Besides, there might be some monsters you both would enjoy meeting."

Gaster summoned his bag with his Blue Magic and the beat-up leather bag floated into his waiting hand. He waved goodbye a final time to Asgore and the children before exiting out the door.

A moment of silence ticked by before Asgore realized he was alone again with these children. They had been silent so far, but he suspected it wouldn't be that way for long if he didn't do something.

"Ken, Justine," Asgore addressed, "How would you like to play a game?"

Their eye sockets lit up with interest and excitement.

"A game?" Ken asked.

"What kind of game?"

Asgore crouched to their level. "A game of hide-and-seek!" he whispered to them, "Would you like to play?"

They both nodded their heads.

"Alright then, go hide! I'll start looking at the count of 10."

Asgore closed his eyes and he heard Ken and Justine's little bare skeletal feet click against the hardwood and their stifled giggles as they ran but still tried to be quiet.

"1...2...3…" he counted out loud.

Asgore was surprised they took to this game so quickly, but at the same time he wasn't. Asriel and Chara loved hide-and-seek. All children Asgore met seemed to love that game, so why not Ken and Justine?

"4...5...6…"

Ken and Justine actually remind him of them. But then again, all children remind him of his own. He guessed that it was a parent thing.

"7...8...9…10..." Asgore opened his eyes to an empty room, "Ready or not, here I come!"

He was a parent again. And this time, he would do everything in his power to be a great father.


End file.
